Using wall anchors

If you need to hang something on a wall and there isn't a stud, there is an
easy way to hang just about anything. The piece of hardware you need has
the somewhat dry name of "Hollow Wall Anchor." The basic types are: Plastic
Anchors, Drive and Drill point Anchors and Toggle Bolts.

Items needed:

Depends

Safety Suggestions and Tips

Level of difficulty

Time Required:

5 minutes

Steps

Plastic anchors

Plastic anchors:

Plastic anchors are the easiest to install of all the anchors. All you
have to do is drill a hole that is smaller than the anchor and drive the anchor
in. Then you screw the included screw into the plastic anchor.
Plastic anchors can hold the least amount of weight of the four types.

Drill point anchors

Drill point anchors:

Drill Point anchors, like the plastic anchors, require that you drill a hole in the
wall. These anchors are a step up in complexity. There are different
anchors for different wall thickness. You simply drill a hole that is a
bit smaller than the diameter of the anchor and insert the anchor into the hole. Make
sure that the anchor is all the way flush with the wall so that the little teeth
on the anchor are into the wall. After the anchor is seated, simply take a
screwdriver and turn the screw in the anchor until the anchor is tight.
When you do this, the part of the anchor in the wall
will mushroom and hold the anchor tight. After the anchor is tight, you can take the screw out (or just back it out) and
hang whatever it is you need to hang.

Drive point anchors

Drive point anchors:

Drive Point anchors, unlike the plastic anchors don't require that you drill a hole
in the wall (however, it isn't a bad idea). Similar to the drill point
anchors there are different anchors for different wall thicknesses. All
you do is drive the anchor through the wall and then turn the screw in the
anchor until the anchor is tight. (It seems like you get better results if
you drill at least a pilot hole first.) When you do this, the part of the
anchor in the wall will mushroom and hold the anchor
tight. After the screw is tight, you can
take the screw out (or just back it out) and hang whatever it is you need to
hang.

Toggle bolt

Toggle bolts:

Toggle bolts are the strongest of the four types.
They require that you drill a hole large enough to fit the toggle through the wall.
Then you push the toggle through and screw the toggle down tight. The only tricky thing is to put the
hanger (or whatever it is) onto the screw before you put the toggle through the
wall. You can't unscrew a toggle bolt after you have inserted it into the
wall.